Evaluate and Strategize

You are on the road to implementing an injury prevention system. You have defined your why, addressed your culture, and adjusted your mindset. The next step is to look at your current reality and define the path to your goal.

What is your current reality?

Most teams I consult with are currently collecting data that they are not even using and asking me what screens they should add. How about dealing with the information you are already collecting? Figure out how to use the data you are collecting or stop collecting it!

Here are a few questions to evaluate your current state:

What is your historical injury rate?
What measurements are you currently taking?What are you doing with the information once you get it?Are you re-testing?What is working with your program? Do you have data to back up that assertion?What isn’t working with your program? Do you have data to back up that assertion ?What are you doing because of tradition?

Once you have answered these questions, you should have a good handle on where you are. Now you need to develop a strategy.

Developing a Strategy

Identify what to stop doing

This is the hardest part. It is easy to add screens, tests, assessments and data points. From the questions above, what data (screens/tests) did you identify that you are either not acting on, not retesting, or you found that the measure is not giving you the intended information. Again, either use it or stop collecting it! Last week we looked at a common limiting belief about time constraints. Here is an opportunity to create some time!

Dream Big (how will we accomplish our why)

When we are starting a project, we use the phrase, “start with ideal.” Given unlimited time, money, and staffing, what would you accomplish and what is the ultimate outcome? Forming an ideal and keeping it in mind at all times throughout the process helps you see the possibilities, not the barriers. Go back to your why statement for the guiding principles for your decisions.

Now determine your goals

Define the specific goals of your injury prevention system. How will you know when you have achieved success? I highly recommend that they are written in the SMART format (Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic (to a degree) and have a Timeframe. For example,

We will have a player readiness rate of 98% average in the 2017 season.

Now that your start and endpoints are clear (where are you now and where you want to go), you are ready to get into the nuts and bolts of implementing your injury prevention system. Comment below with some things you will eliminate as well as your goals for this year. In the next post, I will get into the specifics of accomplishing those.

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